Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela revealed this afternoon that there was 'close collaboration' between Malta and Italy for Italy to take migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, avoiding the disputes of the past about where the boat people should be landed.
Mr Abela made the comment when he was asked at a press conference how migrants were no longer coming to Malta but many thousands were being taken to Italy.
He said that this was an informal arrangement, and it could change with a change of Italian administration.
However, he said, it was an arrangement which made sense in view of Malta's small size and limited facilities.
Just 93 migrants were brought to Malta this year.569 migrants were brought here last year, 71.7 per cent less than in the previous year.
Speaking at a press conference in the wake of an EU home affairs' ministers' meeting yesterday, Mr Abela reiterated Malta's backing to the latest plan by the European Commission to relocate 120,000 migrants among the EU member states, but said no agreement has been reached on the numbers that would be brought here or taken to other countries.
Mr Abela said that some states had agreed to take migrants but were still against using the word 'mandatory' in the agreement.
The ministers are due to meet again on Tuesday.
"We need to get past this series of emergency meetings and achieve a comprehensive and lasting deal," Mr Abela said.
He said Germany's decision on Sunday to reimpose some border controls was not a breach of the Schengen agreement but an emergency and temporary measure which the Schengen agreement envisaged.
However, he said, he was concerned about actions by EU member states Slovakia and Hungary, particularly Hungary's decision to build a high fence to keep migrants out. Such actions, he said, went completely against the values of solidarity and inclusion.
He said the ministers yesterday proposed the creation of a trust fund to help the migrant source countries.
He said the ministers had also agreed to boost repatriation efforts when migrants were refused admissions. It had been found, he said, that only 40% of migrants who were handed a 'return' decision were actually returned to their country of origin. There were various reasons for this, including a lack of cooperation by the source countries to issue documents.
Malta, he said, was strongly supporting proposals for changes to the Dublin Regulation so that responsibility for migrants would no longer lie on the country where the migrants first landed.
VISAS TO LIBYANS
Asked about the granting of a high number of visas to Libyans, Mr Abela said the majority were for business and education. Many businesses had relocated to Malta after the uprising in Libya, he said, and directors, officials and their families sought visas to come here.